Point Me in the Right Direction
by rightxhere
Summary: Running down the long and seemingly unending hospital corridor, her pulse racing at such a rate she feared her heart might actually stop beating, Beckett made her way to the emergency department.


**Title: **Point Me in the Right Direction**  
>Author: <strong>Demelza**  
>Disclaimer: <strong>Without Prejudice. I don't own any of the characters, nor do I own anything to do with the wonderful show, Castle. The show and its characters are the property of all their respective owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Castle/Beckett**  
>Warnings: <strong>None  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Running down the long and seemingly unending hospital corridor, her pulse racing at such a rate she feared her heart might actually stop beating, Beckett made her way to the emergency department.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> For my very dear friend Meredith, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

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Running down the long and seemingly unending hospital corridor, her pulse racing at such a rate she feared her heart might actually stop beating, Beckett made her way to the emergency department.

Reaching the front desk, she set her hands on it for support and tried in a desperate attempt to quickly catch her breath. The woman sitting on the opposite side of the desk grew concerned, and when she rose to her feet the woman asked, "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"I'm looking for a man who was shot," Beckett said, speaking fast, "His name's Castle. Where is he?"

"Cubicle four, but ma'am, you can't—"

Not staying to hear the rest, Beckett moved around the left side of the desk, towards the curtained cubicles. As she passed the first two, she could hear doctors and patients talking, and her heart began to ache in fear.

Suddenly, she heard Castle yell out in pain and she raced to the fourth cubicle, pushed the curtain aside, and stopped when she saw the unexpected sight before her.

Castle sat on the gurney, shirtless, with an arrow sticking out of his right, blood-streaked shoulder. At his side was a female doctor, holding a needle that, Beckett ascertained, had just been used to inject him with something.

"Castle, what the hell happened?" Beckett finally asked.

His blue eyes met hers and he explained, "I was walking in Central Park, when out of nowhere a freaking _arrow_ hit me in the shoulder!"

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Beckett stepped around to his left side, while the doctor excused herself.

"Wait, where are you going? You're not finished!" Castle rambled.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Mr Castle," the mid-fifties and abrupt woman replied, leaving the cubicle.

He sighed dramatically, throwing his head back against his pillow.

"Relax Castle," Beckett said, "They like to let the anaesthetic set in before they get to work."

"Well I don't like it," Castle sulked, and he looked up at her. "Who called you?"

"Your mom," she replied, grabbing the stool that was beside her and pulling it up to his side. Sitting, she placed her hand over his. "She said she got a call from a nurse, saying you'd been shot."

"But she's in Florida with Alexis."

"Probably why she called me," she mused with a smile.

"Oh. Right." He leaned his head to the side, looking up at her with sad eyes. "I hurt, Kate."

She lightly squeezed his hand, "I know. It'll feel better in a little while."

"No, not my shoulder. I fell flat on my ass. I think I broke something."

Unable to help it, and trying hard not to, Beckett laughed. "I'm sorry, Castle," she said of the offended frown that suddenly furrowed his brow. "What on Earth were you doing in Central Park at two in the morning anyway?"

Seeming to take a moment to think first, he said, "Would you believe bird watching?"

She smiled. "No I wouldn't. Come on now, the truth. Why were you there?"

Castle frowned again. "I feel like one of your suspects."

"Don't change the subject," Beckett warned, though her tone was playful.

He sighed once again. "Fine. I was there meeting a source of mine."

"Source for what? A case we're working?"

"My next Nikki Heat novel actually. Did I tell you about my idea? There's this mobster, and he and Nikki meet at a seedy motel—"

"_Castle_," she warned again, this time serious.

"The guy's a reporter. He said he had some info for me on a few cases that I hadn't wanted to bother you about. This guy thought his information might be helpful for the major case in my novel. That's it, I swear."

This time, it was Beckett that frowned. "And this person with the bow and arrow, how do they fit in?"

"Hell if I know. One minute I'm walking along, I side step a puddle and then wham, I'm on my ass, lying on a wet pavement, with an arrow in my shoulder."

"Were you walking away from this reporter guy, or towards him?"

"Away. Why?"

"Because I'm wondering if you were the real target, or if your reporter friend was," Beckett said in full cop mode. She stood up fast, her hand leaving his. "I'm going to get Ryan and Esposito to meet me at Central Park and see if we can figure out who's behind this, and why."

"Wait," Castle pleaded, grabbing hold of her hand when she went to step away, "Couldn't they go, and you stay? Please?"

She thought about it for a second, his doctor returning and scowling at them both. She felt Castle squeeze her hand tighter, and she sidestepped, sitting back down on the stool. "I'll stay," she promised, reaching for her mobile phone with her other hand. "I'll text them and let them know."

"Thank you Kate. I mean it. For being here. For everything."

With a slow nod and a small smile, she murmured, "Always."


End file.
